Anika Zubair (00:00.248)
Hey there, and welcome back to the Customer Success Pro podcast. I'm your host, Anika Zuber, and today I'm going to unpack one of the most important skills that separates the average CS Pro from the exceptional ones. And that is your ability to build real, lasting human relationships with your customers. And no, it doesn't require more Zoom calls, longer emails, or fake small talk, or even AI, because heck,

In the world of AI we are living in, building stronger human relationships with your customers is what's gonna set you apart. And believe me, it's way easier than just jumping on another call with your customer. So if you ever felt like your customer relationships are surface level or reactive, just stick around for this podcast episode because it's for you.

Hello everyone, I'm your host Anika Zuber and welcome to the Customer Success Pro Podcast, your go-to space for real talk, expert advice and actionable insights in the world of customer success. I'm a CS executive leader, award-winning strategist, CS coach and customer success fanatic. I help CSMs and CS leaders build the skills and the confidence to become revenue driving pros and scale world-class CS teams.

So whether you're brand new to CS or a seasoned leader, this podcast is here to support your growth. Because customer success isn't a destination, it's a journey. And I'm here to be your guide and navigate every step of your journey. So join me every Wednesday where you'll get fresh CS tips, tricks, and strategies you can actually use. Some weeks I'll share my own insights and best practices from working in CS over the last 13 years

And once a month, I'll bring on expert guests to dive into the most relevant and pressing topics in customer success today. So if you're ready to level up, hit subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you tune in, and let's make your CS journey a little bit easier together.

Anika Zubair (02:15.375)
This episode is going to help you flip into a dynamic and completely different relationship with your customer. So let's talk about what's really happening behind the scenes. Most CSMs are managing way too many accounts. You've got onboarding calls, renewals, expansions, product feedback sessions, escalations, the list goes on and on and on. Heck, I have heard CSMs that have high touch engagements with over 100 accounts.

How the heck you're doing that? I have no idea. But listen, in the middle of all the chaos of handling tens, if not hundreds of accounts, the relationship you're supposed to be nurturing with your customer, they become tasks. They become things on your to-do list rather than building a nurturing relationship with your customer. You become transactional or robotic. Heck, you might even be just an AI bot at this stage.

That is where you are going to stand out and be exceptionally different as a CS Pro by building those human relationships. You are going to stop taking every single check-in call or every interaction with your customer and you're gonna stop treating it like a transaction because that is not what they're here for and that's not what you're here for either. Heck, AI can do that. So let's not be AI.

So when you're checking in on a customer in your CRM, are you just checking when the next QBR is due or are you replying to tickets or are you just sending out a newsletter update or a mass email to all your customers about a new feature? But I bet you most of your customers probably aren't opening those emails or booking in calls with you because your customers actually feel like they have a AI robot.

don't actually feel like they have a strategic partner in you. And that is where you've got to change. And you've got to stop thinking like your customer interactions as transactions or as to-do list. And here's the thing, most of your customers probably don't see you as the strategic advisor. If I honestly asked you today, do your customers think you are their strategic advisor? Can you honestly say yes? Probably not.

Anika Zubair (04:35.791)
And that's the real problem that we have to solve today. Because in today's SaaS world, your product alone isn't enough. It isn't sticky enough. It isn't enough to stay within a product stack. Your customer is looking elsewhere. Your customer is consolidating tools. Your customer is restricting budget. And honestly, having a great product just isn't enough in today's market. The relationship is the glue.

It is not the product that makes it sticky. It's actually the relationship and the partnership and the strategic alignment that you build with your customer. That is exactly what glues the entire partnership together. And what if that glue is weak or maybe it's not the best glue? Then that partnership is going to break. Your customer is just one renewal cycle away from churning and you've got to be that glue that is super sticky

and you have got to be that strategic partner to them so that they see value in the relationship that they're building with you. All right, let's bust through some myths really quickly in CS. I'm gonna go over three mistakes that you're probably making when it comes to building strategic relationships. The first mistake that you're probably making is you think being nice is building a strong relationship.

And I'm here to tell you that being nice is getting you nowhere in customer success. I'm sorry, but your customers aren't looking for nice. They are looking for strategics. They are looking for a partner. They are looking for a guide to really help them get to the next level of their success with your product or service. So if you are just being nice, that's a hard no.

Being kind is just a baseline. Strategic value is what builds trust. Now, I'm not telling you to go and be mean or do something totally off the rocker, but what I'm trying to say here is being nice isn't strategic. Strategic value is something that is on top of being nice.

Anika Zubair (06:48.664)
Mistake number two that I see way too often is that you only reach out when you need something. Like maybe there's a renewal coming up or you want your customers to fill out a survey. That is not a relationship, that is transaction. And your customer is not gonna reply to a QBR call if they don't see the value in that call or they're not gonna wanna talk about the renewal if it has nothing to do with them.

They just see that as a nuisance. They just see that as you bothering them for something you want. If you really want to build a strategic relationship with your customer and you want us to be seen as a strong glue in that relationship, you are going to have to think of them first and not you. And building a strong foundation to this relationship is not easy, but you've got to stop being transactional. That's the key here.

You've got to stop reaching out when you need something. Think of when your customer needs something. Think of maybe when there is a champion change and they need retraining or re-onboarding. Or maybe think about when, you know, they have had mass layoffs in their company and there's a whole bunch of people that used to use your product and service and now there's no one. Maybe you need to do a bit of an education or an on-site visit to really help them feel like they're getting value from your product or service.

Either way, that is you reaching out because something happened in their world, not something happening in your world. And finally, the number three mistake that I see happening way too often is that CSMs are so busy that they're not tailoring their communication. Like I said at the very beginning of this podcast, there are so many CS pros out there that have hundreds of accounts to their names, and they think

by using a generic email template saying, hi, customer first name, we have a new feature that we think is really great and you should use it. I'm sorry, but that is not a personalized email and your customer is just gonna see that as spam. And if you're not personalizing your emails to your customer's use case or to their actual problem set, they're just gonna see it as spam and not as a strategic relationship.

Anika Zubair (09:13.004)
You're using the same email templates, the same talking points, and the same cadence for every account, and then you're wondering why your customers don't engage. I'm sorry, but that's not the right approach to building strategic relationships. I hear it time and time again from so many CS pros that I want to be more strategic. I want to unlock more revenue for my customers. I want to be seen as a partner for my customers.

But the real problem is that you're not actually treating your customers like a partner. You're treating them like another name on a to-do list that you have to get through. And that is just not the way to build that strategic relationship. If you want to build a strong relationship with your customer, here's the real strategy behind it. It's not about being everywhere. It's about being deeply relevant where it matters

the most. Let me walk you through three principles I coach CSMs on inside CSM RevUp Academy. The first is being relevant and not just responsive. I need you to stop reacting to customer requests. I know that sounds really tough to do, but if you are just replying to every email that your customer sends to you, you are going to be reactive. You are basically an AI bot.

and your customer is just gonna keep sending requests. What I need you to start doing is look at all of the requests that you've sent before to all your other customers. Go look, what have they been asking you? What type of questions do they ask you in onboarding? What type of questions do they ask you right before renewal? I need you to start to really categorize all of them. And then I need you to start predicting them. So maybe you noticed that all your customers ask

about how to add additional users in week three of using your product and service. So instead of them asking in week three or four, I need you to reach out to them beforehand, maybe in week two of using your product, and I need you to write a tailored email based on their use case and based on what they're using your product and service for. And I need you to say something like, hey customer, I'm reaching out because I noticed that you're probably trying to

Anika Zubair (11:39.818)
add more users to our product. And that's great to see. Based on your use case, it's important to have at least five key users in our product. Here's exactly how you add five additional users. When you position it this way, you're positioning it as a problem you're trying to solve for them because you know they're potentially facing it, that is predicting. And that is the way to build a stronger relationship with them.

Some other ways to stop reacting to requests and start to predict them is maybe you can audit their usage before they ask. maybe do a little audit before you jump on your next call with them. Or maybe you start to identify gaps or trends in their industry. Remember, you are not just an expert in your product or service, but let's say you work at a financial service or a fintech.

you need to start to identify any gaps or trends in the fintech world and bring that up in a relationship. So for example, if interest rates change or there's a change in, I don't know, the credit cards or something has happened in your industry specifically in finance, you need to start to learn it and understand it and bring it up in conversations with your customers.

because that again starts to build that stronger relationship with your customer and they start seeing you as not just a product support person, but they start seeing you as an industry advisor, as that CS advisor that they're looking for. And then I want you to start to share micro insights that feel custom to them. So let's say you are working in that FinTech space and maybe there is an interest rate change or the economy change or the...

or the stock market crash or something happened, I need you to bring it up casually in the next time you speak to your customer. Because again, bringing up these micro insights, they really feel like you are taking that extra step to support your customer, not only in how you use your product and service, but how they actually work within the ecosystem of the industry that you work in.

Anika Zubair (13:50.53)
And as you start to build more of this personalization and cadence with your customers, they are going to start to really see you as a strategic advisor and being more strategic rather than feeling like a cold outreach. If your outreach feels like a marketing email, they are going to ignore it. If it feels like a personal heads up and letting them know about an industry trend or maybe something that's really hyper personalized to their use case,

they are going to remember it. And when they remember it, they are going to remember you and the impact that you have had on their business and your ability to really be a strategic advisor for them. And that is the building blocks of how you build a strategic relationship and a very strong relationship with your customers. Hey, just jumping in with a quick break. If you're loving the revenue strategies,

that we're talking about in this episode and want to actually apply them in your day-to-day work, I've got something for you. It's my totally free guide called Unlock Revenue in a Quarterly Business Review. It's gonna be your go-to resource to stop firefighting and get hours back in your day and finally focus on what matters most, customer outcomes. Inside my guide, you'll learn how to prioritize your time, prep smarter,

and run executive or quarterly business reviews that actually drive revenue. These are real life tips and tactics that you can start to use immediately. And like I said, it's completely free. So go ahead and check out the link in my show notes to grab your free copy or go to the customer success pro.com forward slash resources. Just check the show notes and now back to our show.

Alright, the second thing that I teach inside of CSM Rev Up that is all about building strong relationships is show up with consistency, not intensity. So, you don't have to do everything at once. Listen, I have heard it time and time again, CSMs think they are the hero. Heck, CS leaders think they are the hero. We are trying to do everything for everyone. And I'm gonna just tell you right now,

Anika Zubair (16:12.388)
Doing everything at once or everything for your customer is just gonna lead to your burnout, not their success. I'm gonna say it again because I need you to hear me. Doing everything for your customers is only going to lead to your burnout and not their success. Strong relationships are built over time. So you need to be consistent with your relationships.

You cannot just have a kickoff call and then a check-in call and then talk to them when it's time for a renewal. I'm sorry to say that is just gonna be a recipe for disaster and you are gonna end up burning out trying to figure out how to make that customer renew with you. But what I want you to do instead is build in bi-weekly value calls with your customers. Or maybe you start noting when your customer has

new hires or promotions or when your customer actually has product launches. Any and all of these reasons are perfect reasons to build in an ad hoc email to your customer just to, again, understand about their product launches or understand more about their new hires or promotions. As you become more curious about what your customer is doing, you are ultimately building a stronger relationship with them.

And another way that you can show up with consistency is sending reminders and not just recaps. Think of it like watering a plant. A little consistency goes a long way and I want you to start to send reminders to your customers. So not just recapping your meetings. Now I know we all have these AI note takers and we're all like, let me send a very strong follow-up to my customer. Amazing. That's great that you're doing that. And I totally

endorse having a very strong follow-up with your customer, but please don't make that the only thing that you follow up on. Remind them of other ways to use your product and service based on their use case and their problems. Don't just recap your last meeting and don't just wait for the next meeting to bring things up. Send them a quick reminder. You've got to water that plant over time and again, consistency in any of the steps that I've highlighted really goes a long way.

Anika Zubair (18:35.896)
And finally, the third thing that I want to cover in today's podcast is when you are trying to build those strategic and strong relationships, I want you to make it feel human. the world of AI, everything can feel fake right now. Heck, you might be watching this podcast and thinking, is that AI or is that Anika speaking? But let me tell you, I'm trying to make this podcast as human as possible and connect with you in a deeper level. I just want to remind you that as a CSM,

You are human. So you're just not a personal assistant to your customer. You're not a product support person. You are a human. And guess what? So is your customer. So use their name when you're addressing them. Don't just say team or anything like that. Really get to know about their wins outside of work. Understand your customer and what motivates them. Maybe understanding that your customer

wants a promotion this year is what's gonna really help you unlock being that much more strategic with them. And then celebrate their internal impact. Maybe they actually do get that promotion. Celebrate it like they're your friend because at the end of the day, you are human and you care and they need to see that. The best CSMs don't just manage accounts, they really build trust and trust really only happens when there is

real human connection behind all of the Slack messages, all of the strategy, all of the emails and all of the decks that we put together. So really take the time to be human today. Take the time to build that strategic relationship with your customer and use some of the playbooks and tactics that I mentioned in this podcast. Right, let me give you a quick story from my own CS career.

Years ago, I managed an enterprise account with six different stakeholders across multiple regions and time zones. Now, it would have been super easy to stick an agenda and QBRs together and just put together a calendar invite and invited all six of them to these calls. But I made it my mission to understand each of their priorities, not just from a platform standpoint, but personally. Listen, one only cared about rep...

Anika Zubair (20:57.047)
And then there was another one that wanted career wins. And then one was under an intense pressure to cut costs in the business. So I tailored my communications to each of their needs. I sent articles, I asked questions, I looped in product at the right time. And guess what? When a competitor came in with a lower price point, they didn't blink. They didn't even look at the offer.

They stayed because they trusted me to deliver more than just a platform. They trusted me to deliver results, results that they cared about. And that's the power of relationships. So if you're questioning how much time should I be dedicating to really build my customer relationships in 2025, let me just say that in the world of AI, in the world of automation,

In the world that we find ourselves where CS is seen as a cost center, building a strong relationship or partnership with your customer is what's gonna actually set you apart in this competitive market. And if you're questioning how to actually build a strategic relationship, well, I've just given you all my secrets in this podcast. So make sure you take them away and actually apply them.

Okay, as you know, in every single one of my solo episodes, I like to challenge all my listeners because I'm a tactical and practical coach and I can sit here and talk and talk and talk because I love talking about customer success, but I love giving you guys a challenge because I want you guys to take something away from this podcast. So this week, I want you to choose one customer, just one, okay? I know you might have hundreds or thousands or how many?

customers you might have, I just want you to pick one. And I want you to do something unexpected that builds the relationship. That could be maybe sending them an article about something happening in their industry, or maybe recording a quick loom video to answer a non-urgent question that they have, or maybe give them a proactive insight on usage and how to better use your product. Either way, I just want you to pick one customer

Anika Zubair (23:15.735)
champion within that customer and really reach out and build that strategic relationship muscle. And then after you've done that, I want you to either DM me on LinkedIn or reply to my newsletter. Or if you want to, you can actually text me and there's a link in the show notes of this podcast. But I want you to actually tell me what you did and I want to hear what you did because remember there is no fluff in this. There's just action.

So let's make relationship building a muscle and not a buzzword. All right, let's wrap it up and let me recap everything that we covered in today's podcast. First of all, we went over strong customer relationships and how they are built on three things. First of all, they're built on relevance. So you don't have to say a lot, but what you say matters a lot. The second thing is consistency. One big moment won't build loyalty.

ongoing micro-moments will. And the third thing that we covered was humanity. People buy from people. They stay with people. Be someone they can trust. Be the human in the world of AI. And remember that you are more than just a CSM. You are human. And your customer is more than just a logo. They are human as well. Because here's the truth. Knowledge makes you helpful.

Strategy makes you valuable, but relationships? Real human relationships. That's what makes you unforgettable as a CS Pro. Now, if this episode gave you an aha moment, then imagine what you'll learn inside of RevUp Academy. That's where we'll take the strategies that I've talked about in this entire podcast and turn them into action. If you want to get on the VIP waitlist for the next time we open doors for enrollment,

Go ahead and check the link in the show notes for CSM RevUp Academy and apply for the next Mastermind cohort. Also, can I please ask for you to leave a quick review if you haven't already? Leaving a review on Apple or Spotify helps me loads and I love creating all this content for you. So leaving a review really ensures more people hear from this show.

Anika Zubair (25:35.539)
And as always, all the links and all the resources that I talk about are in the show notes, including my free AI guidebook and my free newsletter. All right, you've got this CS Pros. Now go out there and go build those strategic relationships. I can't wait to hear how it goes for you and I'll catch you next time on the Customer Success Pro Podcast. Thanks for tuning in to the Customer Success Pro Podcast.

I hope you picked up something valuable to take back to your team. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world to me if you took just 10 seconds to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps more CS pros like yourself discover the show. And creating new episodes takes a lot of work, so leaving a nice review keeps me motivated to keep creating. And don't forget to hit subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to.

podcast episodes. I drop a new episode every Wednesday packed with practical tips. And if you've got a topic you'd love for me to cover or want to be a guest on my show, send me a message. All the details are in the show notes. I'd love to hear from you. And hey, if this episode helped you share it with a fellow CSM or CS leader. Remember sharing is caring. Cheers to your CS journey and I'll catch you next week for our next episode.